The latest ‘Econsultancy’ blog post is titled “Is Google right to group desktop and tablet together in Enhanced Campaigns?”. David Moth says, “A few months ago Google announced a huge change to the way that marketers managed paid search with the launch of Enhanced Campaigns. One of the biggest changes this involved was the move to group tablet and desktop bids together, so marketers are forced to make one bid for both devices. In the past we’ve highlighted numerous studies which show that businesses shouldn’t lump tablets and smartphones under one ‘mobile’... [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “The Chinese Just Discovered That Advertisers Track You On The Internet — And They HATE It”. Jim Edwards says, “In the West, web users have known for years that advertisers drop “cookies” onto their desktops (via their web browsers), and that these little pieces of code tell advertisers what they’re looking at. In China, however, the state-run TV channel China Central Television just discovered this fact. It aired an investigative, undercover hidden-camera story on the web ad business as a purveyor of secret... [...]

The latest ‘Econsultancy’ blog post is titled “UK digital ad spend up 12.5% to £5.42bn in 2012: report”. David Moth says, “UK digital ad spend increased by 12.5% to almost £5.42bn in 2012, according to a new report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). The figures show that marketers have responded to the fact that smartphone ownership now stands at more than 64% in the UK by investing a massive £526m in mobile advertising. This represents a rise of 148% on 2011 and the real term increase of £322.7m accounts for more than half (53%) of the £607.3m increase... [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “The Inventors Of The Web Ad Banner All Just Admitted That It ‘Sucks'”. Jim Edwards says, “Four ad execs who ran the first internet ad banner — an AT&T ad that ran on HotWired in 1994 — have all admitted to Digiday that, basically, they now hate it. This isn’t news, of course. Everyone in the ad business knows web ad banners are the lowest common denominator of web advertising. Users largely ignore them. The creative space they offer is limited. It’s just that replacing them with something more interesting... [...]

The latest article on HubSpot blog is titled “How to Master Non-Awkward, Effective In-Person Networking”. Hannah Fleishman says, “Remember the good ol’ days when we found jobs through ads in the daily newspaper? Hard to believe, especially considering the fact that70% of jobs are found through personal relationships, according to John Bennett, director of the Master of Science at the McColl School of Business”. How to Master Non-Awkward, Effective In-Person Networking Non-Awkward, Effective In-Person Networking  [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “Why Fab.com Dominates Social Media Commerce While Other Brands Struggle”. Lucy Fisher says, “With high profile brands such as Gap, Gamestop and, in the US, JCPenney, having opened and then subsequently closed Facebook stores (presumably because they weren’t delivering ROI) it would be easy to assume that social media is not suitable for sales – too easy, perhaps. But those who dig a little deeper may find that opportunities abound if social media is leveraged in the right way”. Why Fab.com Dominates Social Media... [...]

The latest ‘Econsultancy’ blog post is titled “Conversion optimisation in an internationalised online world: part two”. Tom Waterfall says, “Welcome back. I hope you caught the first part in this series where I stressed how important it is that businesses recognise that countries and cultures interact with websites differentlyand how it’s key to provide bespoke experiences in order to succeed. In the concluding part of the series, I’ll explore the challenges of brand consistency and my final thoughts on the matter. There is a big world out there and this is neither... [...]

The latest ‘Econsultancy’ blog post is titled “How Microsoft uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+”. David Moth says, “For the latest in our series of posts looking at how the world’s biggest brands use social I’ve turned the spotlight on Microsoft. Bill Gates’ empire still looms large over the global software market, though its fortunes are often overshadowed by Apple’s astonishing level of success. And much like Google, Microsoft also runs a few of its own social platforms – enterprise networkYammer and Pinterest clone Socl“. How Microsoft... [...]

MarketingSherpa has published an article titled “Tactics to improve email engagement”. Courtney Eckerle says, “In this week’s chart, we learn about the types of tactics marketers use to improve their emails’ relevance and engagement. Be sure to share your own analysis of this chart in the MarketingSherpa LinkedIn Group for a chance to be published in a future blog post”. Tactics to improve email engagement  [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “Microsoft Skewers Google For Giving Your Personal Data To App Developers”. Michael Liedtke says, “Microsoft is skewering Google again with scathing ads that say as much about the dramatic shift in the technology industry’s competitive landscape as they do about the animosity between the two rivals. The missive being launched today marks the third phase in a 5-month-old marketing campaign that Microsoft Corp. derisively calls “Scroogled.” The ads, which have appeared online, on television and in print, depict... [...]